Ron Hayter

• Born July 30, 1936 in Hudson Bay, SK Canada
• Died April 21, 2018 in St. Albert, AB Canada

Biographical Information

Ron Hayter was head of Baseball Alberta from 1968-1971 and was active with Baseball Canada for decades. He helped develop the first Canadian rulebook and was Canada's International Baseball Federation representative for 18 years. He helped Edmonton, AB develop the foundation that led to several international tournaments being held in that city. Hayter was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 in a class with Tommy Lasorda, Ron Stead and Larry McLean. He knew Cuban President Fidel Castro quite well and worked with him to help baseball be accepted as a medal sports at the 1996 Olympics. However, their relationship soured when a number of Cuban players defected at a junior tournament held in Edmonton in 2008; Castro thought Hayder should have prevented this from happening, and he replied that it was not really his business.

In addition to baseball, he was an elected municipal councillor in Edmonton for 33 years, from 1971 to 2010, with a six-year hiatus to serve on the National Parole Board. In this position he worked to improve relations with First Nations leaders. He had gotten his start as a reporter for the Alaska Highway News and later worked for the Edmonton Journal. He was also active in the International Amateur Boxing Association and was for a time in charge of Boxing Canada, the national federation for the sport. He served as a judge for heavyweight bouts and was eventually elected to the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame as well. He also helped develop Sport Canada.

Source: Canadian Hall of Fame

Further Reading

• Allan Maki: "Ron Hayter: Edmonton Councillor Watched Baseball with Castro", The Globe and Mail, May 1, 2018, p. B.17. [1]